A
66-year-old downtown lawyer facing conspiracy and elder abuse charges may have
gained as little as $3,000 from the alleged plot, preliminary hearing testimony
yesterday suggested.

Beatrice
Lawson is accused of helping two Jordanian immigrants swindle an 85-year-old
woman out of $1.3 million. The two, brothers Ismat and Nashat Sabha, pled
guilty in May, paying over $1 million in restitution and agreeing to go to Mexico
and renounce their U.S.
citizenship.

But
Special Agent John Rocha of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement testified
yesterday in the downtown courtroom of Judge Norman Tarle that his
investigation turned up only three checks from the alleged victim, Anne Kelly,
to Lawson. Those checks, he said, totaled only $3,000.

Under
cross examination by Lawson’s attorney, James P. Cooper III, Rocha also
conceded that he had been unable to document any link between Lawson and the
Sabhas predating Lawson’s involvement with Kelly.

The
investigator said he believed Lawson might have represented Nashat Sabha in his
divorce, or might have obtained an insurance settlement on behalf of a Hollywood
convenience market owned by Ismat Sabha. Rocha also testified he had been told
by Ismat Sabha’s nephew, who allegedly took part in the plot but was deported before
the criminal charges were filed, that Lawson was aware of the details of the
scheme to steal Kelly’s money and received additional cash payments.

But
prosecutor Susan Powers wrapped up the live testimony portion of her case
yesterday without further substantiating those allegations. The preliminary
hearing is to conclude today with Powers reading into the record portions of
deposition testimony Lawson gave in connection with a conservatorship
established for Kelly.

Cooper
indicated he will not present testimony.

Rocha
and Cooper sparred over the significance of two investigations into Kelly’s
situation launched, and then closed, by county Adult Protective Services
officials. Cooper noted that social workers visited Kelly in connection with
the investigations, but determined she was able to care for herself.

The
investigations stemmed from reports by banks which had become suspicious of
activity on Kelly’s accounts, including almost daily ATM withdrawals for the
maximum amount and attempts to wire money to Jordan.

A
geriatric psychiatrist testified Friday that Kelly was likely already suffering
from moderate dementia at the time of those visits, and that her cognitive
impairment should have been obvious to anyone who had much interaction with
her. That issue seems likely to become key should Lawson be tried on the two
felony charges, which carry a possible seven-year prison sentence.

Rocha
testified that Lawson helped Kelly reactivate frozen accounts and sought,
without success, to facilitate the Jordanian funds transfers. Lawson, Rocha
said, assured Kelly’s bankers and brokers that she was competent and that the
elderly woman simply wished to be free to do as she pleased with her money.

But
Cooper appeared to suggest, through his questioning, that Kelly’s mental
problems either arose later than prosecutors claim or would not have been
obvious to Lawson based on her limited contact with Kelly.

The
tactic seemed to foreshadow the possibility of a contention at trial that
Lawson reasonably believed Kelly wanted to befriend the Sabhas by giving them
money and that Kelly appeared to Lawson to be competent to make that decision.

In
response to a question from Cooper, Rocha acknowledged that the county APS
worker who closed the second investigation, in October of 2002, found that
while Kelly’s memory might be impaired, her “mind seemed clear.”

But
Rocha said the worker also told him her decision to terminate the investigation
was due largely to Lawson’s intervention. When Rocha asked her whether it was
appropriate to end an inquiry based on representations of competence by an
attorney claiming to represent the subject, he explained, the worker told him:

“Well,
it was something, and I closed the case.”

Lawson,
who was admitted to practice in 1975 but according to State Bar records served
a three-month suspension in 1995, is free on her own recognizance.

Under
the terms of their plea agreement, the Sabha brothers agreed to go to Mexico
and renounce their U.S.
citizenship in return for suspension of seven-year prison sentences. Officials
with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the renunciation was carried
out at the U.S.
consulate in Tijuana
and the two then returned to Jordan.

Two
other defendants—Nashat Sabha’s wife, Guadalupe Rojo Sabha, and Anita McKinnon—also
entered guilty pleas in May. McKinnon, who is four years older than Kelly, was
accused of aiding the Sabhas but under the plea bargains was also to receive
restitution, as was another elderly victim, Norah Smith.

A
sixth defendant is believed to be in hiding in Jordan,
customs officials said.

Rocha
testified yesterday that Ismat Sabha’s nephew also told him of an attempt he
made, at his uncle’s instigation, to kill Kelly by running her over with a
borrowed car. The attempt failed because the nephew lost his nerve at the last
moment, swerving and only slightly injuring Kelly, the investigator explained.

Rocha
said the Sabhas made ATM withdrawals from Kelly’s accounts totaling more than
$76,000, bought $55,000 in merchandise at Costco using her debit card, and
spent $80,000 using the debit card in Jordan.

In
documents filed in court before the Sabhas plead guilty, Rocha asserted the
Costco purchases appeared to be merchandise that could be resold at their
market. Checks written on Kelly’s accounts were also used to make payments to
the state Board of Equalization for sales tax owed by the market and to pay the
market’s utility bills, Rocha said.